Ice
by Solosorca
Summary: <html><head></head>Ryoma and Tezuka go ice skating.</html>


**Based on a prompt from star-ensign on tumblr**

"Have you ever been skating before?" Tezuka asked as he tied up the laces on his ice skates.

"Couple of times," Echizen replied nonchalantly, "we used to go skating sometimes when I was a kid."

Tezuka nodded, felling better. He'd only been skating once and he'd been…okay. He hadn't fallen over too much, although that hadn't stopped Fuji from laughing at him.

He stood up on his skates and they made their way to the ice rink, which was almost deserted apart from a couple holding hands and kissing as they skated around. They glared at Tezuka and Echizen as they entered the rink.

Tezuka ignored them and clung to the sides as he steadied himself on his skates. He should be good at balancing and moving his weight around effectively thanks to tennis, but it seemed that once he was on ice all sense of balance disappeared.

Echizen, however, seemed to be a natural. Apparently, he'd been skating more than 'a few times whilst he was a kid'. He skated around in a graceful arc, before turning and looking at Tezuka, who's foot had just slipped out from underneath him and he was clinging to the wall for dear life.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding very amused. He helped Tezuka regain his feet and then went off skating around the rink. The man from the other couple gave him a jealous look as he glided effortlessly around and Tezuka felt quite proud of his boyfriend.

Echizen got bored of showing off pretty quickly and came to join Tezuka, who was inching his way around the rink. All expertise he'd picked up the previous year when he went skating with Fuji had left him and now he was back to square one.

"Move your feet like this," Echizen said, using one foot to push himself forward, "and relax!"

Relaxing was easier said that done, especially when there was the prospect of falling on the hard ice if he got it wrong. He copied Echizen and slid forward a metre or so, before losing his balance and landing on his butt.

He looked up to see Echizen laughing at him. "Sorry Buchou, but that was really funny," he said, sliding over to him and helping him get to his feet. "You'll get the hang of it."

Tezuka highly doubted that and was definitely going to stick to tennis and hiking after this.

Echizen took his hands, skating backwards and pulling him along. Tezuka was well aware that this was what a parent would do with their unsteady child. He was willing to bet money that they looked ridiculous, a quick glance at the other couple's expressions proved that. He looked back at Echizen and his fears melted away. Echizen was looking at at him, a small smile on his lips. The small smile he wore when he was truly happy.

He tried to smile back, but then his foot slipped from underneath him and he fell backwards onto the ice, pulling Echizen with him so that he ended up sandwiched between the cold ice and Echizen's warm body.

"Ow," Echizen muttered, "you okay?"

"I'll survive," Tezuka replied.

Echizen glanced at the other couple, who were now too distracted with each other to notice Tezuka and Echizen, then stole a quick kiss from Tezuka.

"Embarrassed?" Echizen asked and Tezuka looked away, nodding. "Do you remember when you took me hiking and I almost broke my ankle? You had to carry me down the mountain."

"Yes," Tezuka said, wondering what Echizen was getting at.

"At least you're not very good at skating. I'm not very good at walking, that's a lot more embarrassing."

Tezuka nodded and then kissed Echizen quickly. It was rather thrilling, stealing kisses in public. Not that he wanted to make a habit of it.

They got to their feet and Echizen continued helping Tezuka improve his skating technique. The other couple left soon after, leaving them alone on the rink. Tezuka was pleased at this, as it meant there was no one to judge him as he stumbled and wobbled over the ice. He was improving though, Echizen wasn't afraid to tell him when he'd done something wrong and give him pointers on his technique.

He went off on his own sometimes, leaving Tezuka to figure things out on his own whilst he glided around the ice.

"Waa, Ochibi's like Yuzuru Hanyu!" Came a cry from the other side of the rink. Tezuka grasped at the side to stop himself falling over and looked over to see Kikumaru, Oishi and Fuji getting onto the ice.

He pulled himself together, he may let Echizen see him fall over and make a fool of himself, but he was not going to let his other team mates see that and made his way over to them, making good use of all of Echizen's tips. He made it over with only a slight wobble in the middle.

Echizen joined them, not looking pleased that their date had been crashed. Tezuka could tell by the look on Oishi's face that his and Echizen's date was not the only one to be crashed, although he wasn't showing it as much as Echizen.

"You've got a lot better since we came skating last time," Fuji told him.

"Echizen's been helping me," Tezuka replied.

"Ochibi! Since when were you so good at ice skating?!" Kikumaru demanded, almost jumping on Echizen.

"I went skating a lot when I was a kid," Echizen shrugged.

"But you're really good! You should have entered competitions and stuff!"

Tezuka frowned, Echizen taking up skating would mean he would have had to give up tennis.

Thankfully, Echizen had the same feelings. "And give up tennis? No way!"

They ended up skating around the middle of the rink with Oishi whilst Kikumaru and Fuji raced around the outside. Fuji was wining, but then Fuji enjoyed speed skating and practised quite regularly.

Oishi watched Kikumaru go past with a wistful look on his face, then turned to Tezuka. "How long have you been here?" he asked, conversationally.

"About an hour," Tezuka replied.

"Did Fuji crash your date?" Echizen asked and Tezuka wished his boyfriend had more tact.

"No, of course not," Oishi replied, flailing about with his arms slightly, "we just happened to meet him."

"He keeps 'happening' to find our dates as well," Echizen said grumpily, "he should find his own boyfriend."

Tezuka doubted even that would stop Fuji.

Soon, Kikumaru got bored of losing and came to join them in the middle of the rink and started questioning Echizen about ice skating.

It wasn't that Tezuka wasn't enjoying himself with his friends, because he was. But part of him was feeling rather annoyed right now. He didn't get a lot of time alone with Echizen to begin with and now their date had turned into a double date with Fuji tagging along.

He decided that he was being ridiculous and tried to enjoy the double date as much as he could.

That was until his skate caught in Oishi's and he fell, throwing out his hand to catch himself and landing awkwardly on his ankle. Echizen was at his side almost immediately.

"Are you okay?" Oishi asked, "can you move your ankle?"

Tezuka tried experimentally to move it, it throbbed painfully, but didn't seem to be broken. "It's fine."

"Come with me," Echizen said once he'd gotten back to his feet, and practically dragged him off the ice. He sat him down on a seat and helped him get the boot off. "I think you've just sprained it," he said, looking relieved.

Tezuka nodded, that had been his assessment as well. He'd sprained his ankle enough times to know how it felt.

"We should get some ice," Echizen said. They both looked back at the ice rink and then looked at each other, sharing an amused smile. "I'll go find some."

"Are you okay, Tezuka?!" Kikumaru called from the edge of the rink, where the three of them were hovering looking worried.

"It's just a sprain," Tezuka called back, "Don't worry about it. You should go and enjoy your skating."

They all cast Tezuka sympathetic looks, but did as he said, Kikumaru saying something about Echizen being a good nurse as they slid away.

Echizen returned soon after with an ice pack.

"We make a fine pair," Tezuka said, "My choice of date made you twist your ankle and now yours has made me twist mine."

"Maybe we should stick to tennis," Echizen replied, grinning at him, "or something that doesn't involve moving."

"I know what you're insinuating, Echizen," Tezuka said sternly, "and we're not doing _that_ till you're older."

"I meant video games."


End file.
